The Longest Season
by HecateA
Summary: Andromeda doesn't understand the strange magic that brings the garden to life every night, but she is thankful for the sanctuary it—and he—offer her. Written for Romance Awareness Days 10 and 18.
1. First Summer

**Author's Note: **Gosh, the _Hadestown _soundtrack is pulling a number on me. Written for 31 Days of Soulmate!AUs #10: You meet your soulmate in your dreams. It's possible that this was supposed to be about a first meeting, but I think that this works too. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

**Warnings: **NA

* * *

**Stacked with: **MC4A; Shipping Wars; Hogwarts; Harmony of Souls Eternal

**Individual Challenge(s): **Slytherin MC; Hufflepuff MC; Bow Before the Blacks; Brush; Seeds; Old Shoes; Trope it Up C (Secret Relationship); Themes & Things A (Love); Themes & Things B (Prejudice); Themes & Things C (Swings); True Colours; Rian-Russo Inversion; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux

**Representation(s): **Soulmate!AU

**Bonus challenge(s): **NA

**Tertiary bonus challenge: **Schooner; Sanctuary

**Word Count: **1312

* * *

_**Shipping Wars**_

**Ship (Team): **Andromeda Black Tonks/Ted Tonks

**List (Prompt): **Summer Micro 2 (Garden)

* * *

_**Hogwarts Submitting Info**_

**House: **Ravenclaw

**Assignment: **Assignment #2, Health and Fitness Task #2, Write about someone running away from their problems

* * *

**The Longest Season**

_You take me in your arms_

_And suddenly there's sunlight all around me_

_Everything bright and warm_

_And shining like it never did before_

_And for a moment I forget_

_Just how dark and cold it gets_

—

_All I've ever known is how to hold my own_

_All I've ever known is how to hold my own_

_But now I wanna hold you_

_Now I wanna hold you_

_Hold you close_

_I don't ever wanna have to let you go_

\- All I've Ever Known, Hadestown

"Another game?" Cissa asked from across the chessboard, pouting her lip and beating her beautiful blond eyelashes.

Andromeda sighed. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm really tired…"

"It's not even _my _bedtime yet," Cissa frowned. Bellatrix laughed from the armchair where she was comfortably sunken, reading a book.

"You're right, Cissa," Bellatrix smiled. "I think our sister's becoming quite the little old lady."

Cissa laughed and Andromeda stuck out her tongue in their eldest sister's direction.

"I'm just tired," Andromeda said. "And I know we'll be up late for _somebody's _wedding rehearsal tomorrow, and I want to make sure that I am more than ready for that."

That made Bellatrix smile, so Andromeda turned back to Narcissa.

"Maybe we can have a rematch in the morning, sweetie?"

Narcissa considered this for a second before nodding. She reached out for Andromeda, who got up and circled the table to give her a goodnight hug and a kiss. She then went to Bellatrix and kissed her cheek.

"Sweet dreams, love," Bellatrix said.

"I will," Andromeda said, smiling to herself.

"So sure of it," Bellatrix teased. Andromeda laughed in response, but truly her sister couldn't know how true that was.

Andromeda didn't start breathing again when she closed the bedroom door behind her, nor when she plucked out the hairpins pressing into her scalp, and not even when she whispered the spell that unlaced the corset she was cocooned in. When she locked her bedroom door and eased herself down into bed, smoothing out her nightgown and sinking into her pillows—_then _she breathed. She was so close… She'd made it through another day and she was so close…

And when she woke up again, she was sitting in the garden she'd been dreaming about all summer. She knew its winding paths and colourful beds like the back of her hand now. When she ran her fingers against the leaves of low-hanging branches, their touch felt familiar and the droplets of dew that jumped to her fingers felt familiar. Chimes sounded from somewhere, though she'd never seen them hanging anywhere in the gardens before. She noticed that the sunflowers had grown at least another inch as she rounded the path to the swing where he always waited for her when he got here first. And sure enough, there he sat; wearing a graphic t-shirt from a Muggle band and a pair of flannel pajama pants. His hair was messy since he'd been sleeping on it, and he was wringing his hands nervously.

"Nervous?" she called out.

Ted looked up at her and smiled. That smile was enough to get the air circulating in and out of her lungs again, circulating through her body and bringing her to life again.

"Do you still doubt that I'll come?" Andromeda asked.

"Not at all," he smiled, getting up and holding his arms out. She smiled and picked up her nightgown to walk towards him. She was just within his reach when he stepped back, looking troubled.

"I forgot to brush my teeth before going to bed," he gasped.

"Ted, I have waited all day for this and couldn't care less," she said, pulling him closer and kissing him square on the lips. He relaxed against her and kissed back, his hands drifting down to rest on her hips. Her nightgown wasn't thick enough to stop the shivers from running up her sides and through her body.

When they broke for air, she leaned her head against his chest. His fingers made their way to her hair, where they started toiling absentmindedly. The last of the stress and stiffness of Andromeda's day oozed out of her under his touch. He knew how to play her as well as a piano.

"How was your day?" he asked quietly.

"It was nothing exciting," she said, snuggling into his chest. She grounded to herself in his heartbeat, just like this garden had grounded itself in their imaginations and bloomed ever since. "Wedding preparation again, of course. Bella is excited for her big day, but I think we're also all excited for it to be over."

Well, somewhat. Once her mother had successfully married off Bellatrix, Andromeda knew she would set her sights on Andromeda's future, but… well, that was a problem for another day, and it was definitely a problem for another place. The garden wasn't the place to bring them.

"I played at a wedding today," Ted said absentmindedly.

"How did it go?" Andromeda asked, happy for the chance to change subjects.

"It went well," Ted said. "The pastor and I struck a deal: he's been letting me use the church's piano to practise over the summer, and I've been playing all the weddings and funerals, and some of the services."

"That's good," she said. She'd never been to a Muggle church before, and most likely never would. She liked to imagine that they were as full of sunlight as this garden and as full of music as Ted could be. "Tell me what you played."

"Only if you tell me what they finally asked you to sing at Bellatrix' wedding," Ted said.

"What if I don't want to talk about that?" Andromeda said, tilting her chin to look up at him.

"Then you can tell me about something else," Ted said. "I want to hear about _you._ I don't see nearly enough of you and don't want to hear about myself in these dreams when you're here…"

"That's not fair, I miss you too. Summer's the longest season," Andromeda sighed. "I thought that all the secrecy and the sneaking around at school was exhausting, but being without you… it's like I wake up tired every day."

"I wish I never had to wake up," Ted agreed. He buried his face in her hair and ran a hand up on down her back and the gentle scrape of his nails sent sparks shooting across her nerves. He did this whenever he needed to soothe her, calm her down… sometimes she couldn't believe how perceptive he was.

He kissed the top of her head.

"Are you okay with this wedding?" Ted asked. "You seem nervous."

"I'm okay," Andromeda said. "I just… The guests in attendance will be… difficult."

"Right," Ted said. He seemed to understand, even if she hadn't told him how bad it truly was. How much more vicious the purebloods had been getting, how brazenly they now supported their Dark Lord, how Bellatrix had chosen a wedding dress with long sleeves for a very specific purpose, how her mother was becoming more and more insistent that Andromeda should make herself known to the eligible bachelors of England…

"Like I said," Andromeda sighed. "Summer is a long season."

"Enough talking, then," Ted said, kissing her cheek. "Can I tell you about a new song the Beatles dropped this summer that I'm absolutely obsessed with and think I finally figured out how to play?"

She looked down at his t-shirt quickly.

"The Beatles are the ones with Ringo, yes?"

"Yes," Ted smiled.

"They sing about letting it be and those underwater boats that are yellow," Andromeda nodded. "I promise I listen!"

Ted laughed and kissed her forehead.

"I know you do," he said.

"What are they singing about now?" Andromeda asked. She took his hand and tugged him towards the path, starting their nightly walks. "Sing it to me."


	2. Last Summer

**Author's Note: **Welp, another prompt cropped up that was too perfect for this to pass on. Written for 31 Days of Soulmate!AUs #18: You can meet soulmate any time in a shared mind space. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

**Warnings: **Death; loss

* * *

**Stacked with: **MC4A; Shipping Wars; Hogwarts; Harmony of Souls Eternal

**Individual Challenge(s): **Slytherin MC; Hufflepuff MC; Bow Before the Blacks; Brush; Seeds; Old Shoes; Trope it Up C (Secret Relationship); Themes & Things A (Love); Themes & Things B (Prejudice); Themes & Things C (Swings); True Colours; Rian-Russo Inversion; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux

**Representation(s): **Soulmate!AU

**Bonus challenge(s): **NA

**Tertiary bonus challenge: **Schooner; Keen

**Word Count: **1265

* * *

**Our Last Summer **

_Wait for me_

_I'm coming_

_Wait I'm coming with you_

_Wait for me_

_I'm coming too_

_I'm coming too_

—

_You got a lonesome road to walk_

_And it ain't along the railroad tracks_

_It ain't along the blacktop tar you walked a hundred times before_

_I'll tell you where the real road lies_

_Between your ears, behind your eyes_

_That is the path to paradise_

_And likewise the road to ruin_

—Wait For Me Reprise, Hadestown

"Goodnight loves," Andromeda said, wrapping an arm around Dora from behind and reaching with her other hand to pat Remus's shoulder. They were sitting at their kitchen table playing cards.

"Goodnight, Mum," Dora said. "Let us know if we're keeping you up."

"I will, but don't you stay up too long either," she said. "Just because that baby's nearly ready to go doesn't mean you get to go all crazy, Dora."

"Remus, better cancel that rave we'd been planning on," Dora said.

"I'd been looking forward to that," Remus mused, looking over his hand. "Goodnight, Andromeda. Sweet dreams."

Sometimes she wondered if Remus guessed why she always went to bed so early. He was far more perceptive and sensitive to the feelings of those around him than she had initially realized—and a near-encyclopedic memory which had accumulated quite the repertoire of books and lectures. He perhaps had an inkling that Andromeda was doing more than dreaming through the nights, especially since she had been staying with him and Dora recently, as Death Eaters-turned Snatchers and Aurors began patrolling her home more and more. She found it completely ridiculous—as if Ted would suddenly appear there, after being on the run for months. Regardless: thankfully Remus was also private and discreet enough never to prod or poke.

She got ready for bed as quickly as she could, taking care to braid her hair back in the twisted-up style that Ted always thought looked pretty. She felt somewhat vain doing it; but it was only fair if she was truly only going to see him so little…

She reached into the drawer of her bedside table and slipped on the wedding ring she'd had to forego as of late, to really pretend that she was a good little Pureblood who was attoning for her sins and her marriage to a Muggleborn man. If Dora weren't in the state she was in and if Ted wasn't in such danger, she would have refused to play this charade. She'd hid before and had vowed never to do it again… But some things were worth doing, she supposed. Besides, it was what Ted wanted. He'd told her before going, and had told her over and over again since.

At least their garden had come back, as if it sensed that they were once again apart. The first night she'd spent without Ted, intimidated by the empty bed and the abundance of sheets that nobody was wrestling away from her. When she'd finally drifted off he'd been sitting on his usual swing, grinning at her.

"It still looks just as beautiful," he'd said, waving to the garden around them. "It must get that from you."

And they'd been back every night. Sometimes Andromeda had to wait—while he took first watch amongst the Muggleborns he was traveling with, for instance. But he always came; and even if it was just as Andromeda was about to rise, they had time for a kiss and to promise that they were okay. It had been months, and they were okay. Day by day by day, okay, okay, okay.

Today, she was especially excited to see him. Dora had been having Braxton Higgs contractions for the last few days; a sign that their grandchild was getting close. They had opted to keep quiet about the garden, in case they all had to go through another round of interrogation, but Ted had edged her on to sell Dora and Remus on the name 'Abigail' for a girl and Andromeda thought that she might have finally convinced them. They were quite set on 'Samuel' for a boy, with the gender-neutral name 'Sawyer' in their back pockets. These were all important developments.

When she woke in the garden she was by the apple trees, as per usual. The garden obeyed no laws of nature and the fruit all blossomed and matured and ripened according to their own whims; but the apple trees were in synch with the outside world and were currently taking advantage of the spring to bloom.

Andromeda frowned.

Some of the white flowers on the tree were… browning. As if they weren't developing properly. As if they were…

She approached the tree and felt the flower's petals between her fingertips.

None of this was shocking; but it wasn't normal. Well, it was, and that was the problem—Andromeda had never seen anything in the garden do anything but thrive. Not the trees, the bushes, the flowers, the vines…

She looked around. It was still a beautiful place, lush and green and so on. But something was off. The ethereal quality she'd always associated with the garden was gone.

"Ted?" Andromeda called. Only the babbling creek answered her; but none of the birds or insects she'd never seen but always heard. A breeze ran through the leaves and in this awful silence, the faint rustling felt like a scream.

"Ted," she called again nervously. She wandered down the path, past the beehive and the birdhouses and the windchimes she'd seen a hundred times and knew well as landmarks to navigate this beautiful expanse. She swallowed hard, full of dread, before she turned the corner to where his swing was. It was empty.

"Don't panic," she said to herself as calmly as she could manage it. There had been nights where he had had to stay up a long time, keeping fires alive and standing watch. There were nights where he didn't dare to sleep, and he only joined her in the early mornings.

She sat on the swing and gently pushed herself backwards and forwards, twisting her wedding ring around her finger. She knew how to wait.

And wait she did. For a long time. And as she waited, her stomach turned to stone as the windchimes' soft sound became fainter and fainter, as the grass around the garden became dryer and dryer…

She wasn't altogether surprised to be woken up by a concerned looking Remus, and it wasn't just because he was as gentle as could be about it. Something in her had died—like a piece of equipment with a malfunctioning part, and she didn't know how to explain it. Not yet, anyways.

"Andromeda," he said quietly. "Andromeda, Dora is at the door with two—not Aurors, Snatchers. They are looking for you."

Andromeda sat up in bed and inhaled a sharp intake of breath.

"What are they saying?" Andromeda asked quietly.

"I don't know, we're pretending I'm not here," Remus whispered. "You should go, Dora is stalling to give you a moment to gather your thoughts, but she can't stand for very long..."

"Of course," Andromeda said. She reached for her robe and pulled it over her nightgown, and then took off the ring on her finger. That's when she realized that her hands were shaking.

"Hold this for me?" Andromeda asked Remus. He nodded solemnly and took the wedding ring. He looked nervously outside, and then back to her.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I'll go," Andromeda said, patting his arm and trying to sound reassuring. Really, she was bracing herself for the worst.

And sure enough, the worst had happened.


End file.
